Word of the Day: gobemouche

What's the word I'm thinking of? Today it's...

gobemouche [GO-buh-moosh] (noun) [TWITO, page 61]

This word refers to someone who swallows flies. It can also refer to someone whose mouth is always open -- a silly, gullible person or a boor. It's also the name for a type of bird.

"You dunno nuffin. You nuffin but one big fool ob a Gobemouche. I spec you nebber heerd dat we win de battle ob Bunker Hill -- eh?"
--Albert Taylor Bledsoe, "The Gobemouchian Ideal of Government", in The Southern Review (1868)

A bug flew into my mouth once when I was a kid. I managed to spit it out, but the odd feeling stayed with me for a long time. "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly...."